sell out
Britishverb
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Also (chiefly Brit): sell up. to dispose of (supplies of something) completely by selling
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informal (tr) to betray, esp through a secret agreement
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informal (intr) to abandon one's principles, standards, etc
noun
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informal a performance for which all tickets are sold
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a commercial success
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informal a betrayal
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informal a person who betrays their principles, standards, friends, etc
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Dispose of entirely by selling. For example, The rancher finally sold out to the oil company , or The tickets to the concert were sold out a month ago . [Late 1700s]
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Betray one's cause or colleagues, as in He sold out to the other side . [ Slang ; late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While fans have clamored for tickets, many were disappointed and frustrated with high prices and limited availability that seemed to sell out almost instantaneously.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
I would definitely not sell out of long-term, multiyear positions because of projections of a pullback that may not happen.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
It gets crowded by 10 a.m., so go early to score some peach-glazed doughnuts from GB&D before they sell out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
“The relatively tiny amount of tickets they pull aside for this usually sell out in five minutes, so that could be improved I guess,” Sosa says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Some families would sell out for nearly nothing and move away.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
